The top twelve from 2015

Well, it's that time of year when we all start to look back on the year that's been, and I am no exception! I love seeing what my most viewed posts have been each year; it's always surprising, I'm sure to have forgotten one or two, and it's nice to see how the crafts have been holding up. So, without further ado ...

12. A draw between the Darth Vader Coffee Cup Cosy and the Three Addams Family Crafts

Huzzah for nerd crafts! The Darth Vader Coffee Cup Cosy (or DV CCC, for short ~___^) was a birthday gift for my wonderful friend Pip and even though she received it rather late, it was a big hit. I suspect my Star Wars crafts posts may have received small boosts in traffic due to the new movie, which goes to show, Star Wars never goes out of fashion ^___^

Also at number twelve was my post on three easy Addams Family crafts and I'm pleased to report that all of these projects are still going strong! The canvas is on display on my computer desk, the necklace is getting regular wear, and Scott and I use the pillowcases almost every night (almost because, well, we have to wash them sometimes! ~___^)

11. Polymer clay foods

The fairy bread sweater clips and the peas in a pod brooch have been getting the most wear from me, but the other pieces are still valued contributors to the jewellery box team ~___^ I really enjoy working with polymer clay and actually have some new sculpting projects in the works - stay tuned!

10. Morticia and Gomez clay dolls

Looks like 2015 was the year of the Addams Family on this blog, huh? I made these clay dolls for my lovely friend Clare and I'm so glad they made this list because they're one of my favourite projects! I had a lot of fun learning some new techniques to make them and, while my skills still can use some improvement, I'm still really proud of how they turned out. 

 9. How to turn stickers into brooches

This project is my most popular post over at Cut Out + Keep, so I suspect there are a lot of sticker hoarders out there! All of my sticker jewellery has held up really well, but using super glue is essential for this project; they're just not secure enough otherwise.

 8. Moon phases necklace

"IT'S NOT A PHASE, MUM!" Oh, wait, no, it totally is. My moon phases necklace (*another* clay project, btw!) is a big hit every time I wear it. It's surprisingly light and gives a lovely witchy touch to any outfit ^___^

7. Kitty mugs

Omg, the kitty mugs. I made *so many* and they were such fun! They have held up relatively well; one cup got put in the dishwasher by a well meaning work colleague which didn't turn out so well, but with gentle handwashing the porcelain pens stay on ok. I think more experimentation with baking would assist here; although I followed the instructions on the packets, I think longer in the oven would help.

 

 

 6. Crochet Kraken

Awww, look at that wide eyed smile! I love my little Kraken and even though he's spent a year being squished on our couch, he still looks as happy as ever. I did learn that thin wire is not the way to go in the tentacles though; pipe-cleaners, like I used in the first Kraken I made from this pattern, work much better.

 5. A draw between my Welcome to Night Vale crafts and the Toe guards for my derby skates

The Night Vale crafts were made for a craft swap, so I don't know how they're looking right now - or even if they are looking. Inanimate objects are notoriously bad witnesses. The Night Vale canvas is one project I really miss - I might have to make another one so I can keep it!

The toe guards that I made for my skates didn't actually survive that well. I used pleather for the main cover, and it just didn't hold up. The hearts were made of real leather though, and they're fine! So I guess the moral here is, if you're going to make them, use leather!

 

 4. Imperial Eagle dice bag

I'm surprised (but pleased!) that this one made the list! I made this for Scott, to hold his dice collection that he uses to play Warhammer 40K. My favourite part of this project was the cross-stitch because I found that two-headed eagle so darn tricky to chart that I was very pleased with how it came out. The bag still looks perfect, and Scott hasn't brought any more dice so it still fits his entire collection - yay!

 3. Roller skate baby booties

Oh my gosh. I feel like I had forgotten how cute these little baby skates were! The pattern I followed was really great and my friend Toni sent me a photo of her new baby wearing them which was, no lie, pretty darn special. This project is definitely on the list for "future baby presents for derby folks"!

2. Chevron cowl

I'm still totally on the cowl bandwagon, and this one still looks great! The yarn is super fluffy and cosy, and it's in WARD colours so I can wear it to winter derby games! ~___^ Also in this post was the photos from my trip to Singapore and the costumes Bec and I wore to a 60s party the day after I got back!

 

1. Paracord handles for my skating bag

This project is not the one I would have backed to come in the winner, but I'm actually really pleased it did! This bag is not in use anymore - the leather bits that connected the handles to the bag totally ripped off! Faux leather is just no match for all my derby gear! But the paracord handles are still perfect, and I've kept them for use on another project one day ^___^

Because I'm a huge nerd, I thought it would be fun to look at what kind of projects I posted in 2015! Here's the breakdown ...

Techniques most used: Crochet and painting! (10 each)

Techniques least used: Knitting (1)

Fandom most repped: Welcome to Night Vale (5)

Fandom least repped: A big ol' draw between Adventure Time, Game of Thrones, Warhammer, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, DC, and Marvel! (1 each)

Type of project most made: Home decor (17!)

Type of project least made: Clothing (1)

Honorable mentions:

6 projects made using miscellaneous techniques (like, is gluing a technique??)

3 projects featuring cats

6 projects relating to skating

3 projects featuring mermaids

6 posts with cake
3 posts on cosplay and/or costumes

If you're looking for a quick way to view all my projects, you can always check out my Pinterest board ^___^

Here's to another year of crafting!

- Lisa xx

Glittery antler flower crown

It's the middle of summer here in Australia, so I'm dreaming of cool spring evenings and lush woodland groves. Recently some friends and I were planning a crafternoon and trying to decide which project we would make. I'll show you what we decided on next week, but I couldn't resist recreating one of the other suggested projects - an adorable antlered flower crown by Georgina Doull, featured here on Mollie Makes.

Creating the antlers was definitely the trickiest part of this project; Georgina makes it look so easy, but I made and remade mine several times! I also wasn't sure if I was going to glitter them or not, so I didn't follow her instructions to press the glitter into the clay before baking. Getting the glitter onto the antlers after baking was quite difficult, so if I was to do this again, I would listen to Georgina ^____^

My headband was already covered with white ribbon, so I left it as is. I did use some baby blue ribbon that was originally from a bouquet of flowers to help attach the antlers, but it's barely visible from the front.

The flowers I used are all foam roses. I was originally planning to use some of the larger size roses, that you can see in the top corner in the photo above, but then decided they were too big and instead stuck to the medium and small sizes instead.

 

I cut off the wire stems with scissors and then attached all of the flowers with hot glue. There is a patch were a bit of glue leaked onto the front of the band, but when I'm wearing it the glue isn't visible.

 

The back of the band isn't as pretty as the front; I'm considering making some felt leaves to cover up the backs of the roses.

 

 

I feel like I should be waiting for some fairies to drop by for a tea party while I'm wearing this! ^____^ Despite the clay antlers, it's quite light and very comfortable to wear. I'm thinking it would also be lovely for a Christmas outfit or a casual party costume.

Considering that 2016 starts in two days (whhhaaaatttt??), this will be my last project for the year. Thanks so much for spending time with me; I hope you've had some fun and maybe even found a little crafty inspiration. As always, I love to hear from you; what you enjoyed, what you'd like to see more of, what you created this year, and what you plan to create next.

Enjoy the rest of December, and I'll see you in the new year!

- Lisa xx

Harry Potter book quote ornaments

I'm usually on the fence about book art; I love the look, but the thought of destroying books makes me slightly anxious. However, recently Scott and I were weeding our book collection and we discovered his old copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Teenage Scott was obviously pretty hard on his books, because it was falling apart. Like, literally; the back cover was gone, the binding was shot, and pages were coming out. (Don't worry - mine is still in perfect condition! ~____^)

This was apparently all the encouragement I needed to start destroying it more - and creating some new ornaments out of the leftovers!
 

These are honestly so easy to make. All you have to do is cut up the book pages into thin strips (I cut out single lines of text), push them into clear ornaments (I got mine from the craft store, and the tops come off!), and add some glitter ^____^

I still don't have my big tree up (!!!) so I did a little photo shoot with my baby tree.
 

I really like how they turned out! I chose lines that I thought were interesting, or funny, or just mentioned favourite characters (Fred! ; ______ ;) so it's fun to look at the ornaments and try to read the little sentences.

To all those who celebrate around this time of year, I hope you have a merry, joyous, and/or happy one! To everyone else, I hope you still get a day or two off work! ~____^

- Lisa xx

How to make a succulent birdcage

Hello! So, my neighbour Serene has two green thumbs and is also very generous; this works out well for me since she keeps giving me plants - especially succulents, which I love! But it was getting to the stage where I had so many succulents that I needed to work out a new way to keep them, rather than just having them in the little pots she gave them to me in. I've had a decorative metal birdcage hanging around my house for literally years, so I decided to upgrade it to a succulent cage! ^___^

Since I was planning to keep this cage inside I didn't treat the metal in anyway. If you're planning on hanging yours outside, I'd recommend coating it with a rust preventative. Also, check that the hinges are going to hold up! My cage is pretty heavy now, and I'm not sure I'd trust it hanging for a long time. 

 

I brought a hanging pot liner from the hardware store; mine was made from coconut fiber and has a circular base shape.

 

I used secateurs to trim down the edges of the liner and also cut darts into the sides so that it would fit better in my hexagon shaped cage. It was pretty tricky to cut the edges so that they were the same height all around, and mine is higher at the back. If you want the edges perfectly even, just keep trimming! I decided that having the back higher would make the plants at the back of my cage easier to see while it's on the shelf, so I left it. I'm also hoping that as the plants grow the liner will be less visible.

 

After adding the liner, all that's left to do is to fill the cage with soil and plants! I used a specialised cacti and succulent soil mix which, again, I got from the hardware store. The bag I got was quite large, but I've been using it for lots of my succulent replanting, so it's not going to waste ^___^

I'm not a very good plant mum as I don't know the names of all the succulents I have, but here's what I do know. The tall plant is a Sedum rubrotinctum, also known as Jelly Bean. The tips of the leaves go red when left in the sun; mine is going redder by the day which I hope means it's happy next to the lounge room window.

The three plants that look the same (two of them are next to the dinosaurs and they form a triangle within the cage) are actually all from the same plant. I think they are Sempervivum giuseppe, also known as Hen and Chicks. The pot Serene gave me had one plant in the middle of the pot and six smaller plants surrounding it; at her advice I broke off the smaller plants and planted them separately. I put three in this cage, and have the other four in pots by themselves.

The plant with wavy leaves, behind the left dinosaur, I think is an Echerevia Zorro and the plant kinda hiding behind Jelly Bean with the large rounded leaves with red tips is a Kalanchoe luciae, also called Flap Jacks. Hmmm, jelly beans and flap jacks; who knew succulents could be so delicious? ~___^

On the other side of Jelly Bean is a bushy little succulent which I think is Sedum Goldmound. I'm not sure what the brighter green plant at the bottom of the photo above is though, or the skinny ones which look like creepers.

This photo has a better view of Flap Jacks and Goldmound, and also shows how the back of the cage has the liner and plants on a higher angle. Once all your plants are in, give the soil a good watering. Some will probably drip out of the bottom of the liner at this stage, so hang it outside for a bit until it's not leaking anymore. I've been told that the best way to water succulents is to give them a little bit, and then wait until the soil is dry before watering again. This usually means that I'm watering them small amounts every couple of days, and that's not enough for the liner to drip inside. If the soil gets really really dry and your plants look like they're suffering, hang them outside again and give them another good watering.

Do you have a favourite type of succulent? Scott recently brought me an awesome doll head planter for my birthday, so now I really want a brain cactus (Mammillaria elongata cristata, for those playing at home) ~____^

- Lisa xx

Harry Potter art canvas

Hello! This year Rebecca and I decided to give each other Halloween gifts ... and then we both promptly didn't finish them in time for actual Halloween. BUT, I have finally finished Rebecca's gift and she has received it and now I can show it to you!

Bec has always said very kind things about my art canvases (which, to be honest, seems like a term which is a bit too fancy for what I actually create, but you can see them here, here, here, and here), so I decided that she better have one of her very own. I decided on a Harry Potter theme since Bec and I are Potterheads from way back, and making this type of canvas is easier if you know lots of random little things about a fandom.

In this picture you can see a library card for Hogwarts: A History with (nerd alert!) names and approximate appropriate dates for confirmed canon Hogwarts students, a laminex heart that I made from a sample card from the hardware store, a stag cutout to represent Harry's patronus, and a whole lot of stamping done with my mini alphabet set. I really love this stamp set, and I use it so much; I didn't really try to get the letters straight on this project though because I felt like it gave a more Daily Prophet style feel.

I made a winged key simply by cutting out two vaguely wing looking shapes from scrapbooking paper and sticking them underneath a wooden key embellishment. I inked the edges of the wings and curled them up a bit to give a bit more texture.

 

Since woodland themes are just going out of fashion in scrapbooking now, I found a huge kit of embellishments and cutouts at the discount shop for super cheap - huzzah! The wings, blue stag card, and the stag cutout from before are all from the same kit. I stuck the wings on with double-sided sticky foam which kinda makes them look like they're floating - perfect for the wingardium leviosa spell! ^___^ I wish I had brought up on supplies a few years ago when owls were in though, because no owls were included in this particular woodland kit ; ___ ;

Other things that you can spot on this canvas include a vintage suitcases sticker from a Amy Tangerine remarks set, a silver crown and Union Jack from a Ruby Rock-It Vintedge (yup, that's how it's spelt!) Imprints sheet, two clocks and a pointing hand also from Ruby Rock-It, two chipboard letters that I coloured gold with a paint pen, kraft paper tags that I wrote and stamped on to make the Hogwarts Express luggage tags and the tag under the HP, and a random gold embellished circle gift tag that I drew a lightning bolt on. Oh, and washi tape. Always washi tape.

 

The most important step of making an art canvas is to mod podge everything down afterwards. Seriously, I tried to skip this step because I thought double-sided tape and glue would be enough. Spoiler alert: it's not. 

I brought a few more canvases while I was at the discount store (seriously the best place to get canvases in this city) so I may have to spread out all my supplies (again) and make a couple more! What fandom would you choose? 

- Lisa xx